Written by Vickie
December 16, 2011
I will say this: it wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be.
If you recall, I really did NOT care for the first film in this series. I missed the second. And I was totally dreading the third. Had you offered me the choice between a root canal and Chip-Wrecked, I likely would have given my options some serious thought.
Thankfully, for all its puns and lame production numbers and seemingly unending playlist of current top-40 hits performed by the Chipmunks or their female counterparts, the Chipettes, Chip-Wrecked wasn’t the worst movie I saw in 2011. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t nearly as repugnant as its predecessor once-removed. That said, I might be subconsciously grading it on a curve.
Anyway…
This time around, Dave (Jason Lee), Alvin and the whole gang are headed out on a Carnival Cruise to the World Music Awards. Because, when making a transcontinental journey, the most efficient means of travel is a Carnival Cruise. Oh, did I mention that the audience knows it’s a Carnival Cruise because of the insanely obnoxious level of blatant Carnival Cruise product-placement that takes place? I lost count of the number of glamour shots of the Carnival Cruise ship that served as transitional elements between scenes.
Anyway, mischief-maker Alvin – who’s reamed out by Dave early on for his lack of responsibility – talks his five furry friends (Simon, Theodore, Eleanor, Jeanette and Brittany) into parasailing off the top deck. Cue a gust of wind and the entire pint-sized gang is sent flying into the air, way off the Carnival Cruise and, eventually, towards a seemingly uninhabited tropical island.
Having apparently lost every ounce of wild-animal instinct they once possessed, Alvin and the rest of the chipmunks scramble to figure out a plan – build a shelter? Try to signal for help? Meet a lunatic island dweller (Jenny Slate) with a collection of sports balls she talks to and considers friends?
Wait. What?
Also stranded elsewhere on the island are Dave and a bitter, vengeful Ian (David Cross), who wound up adrift in the ocean after a failed rescue attempt. They, too, stumble around but have no idea (shocker!) that they’re on the same island as the chipmunks they’re desperate to find.
Story-wise, Chip-Wrecked couldn’t be more simple or more basic… which is fine, given that its target audience is likely children under 10. There are lessons to be learned (about growing up and having expectations and forgiveness and rising to the occasion) and loads of pop-culture references (Tom Hanks’ film Cast Away figures prominently in that regard), and each one is driven home loudly and clearly so that the message isn’t lost on viewers distracted by the sight of a Chipette in a belly shirt. (I mean, honestly.) Thankfully, the tone of this film wasn’t as crass as the first, and bless little Theodore for being adorable enough to add an unexpected level of sweetness that nicely counteracts whatever smarminess arises.
The film is still laden with excessive musical numbers that serve no purpose beyond giving the animators and music directors a chance to repeatedly show off. “Look what we can make the chipmunks do! Look at which Grammy winners gave us the rights to use their songs!” might as well have scrolled across the bottom of the screen each time an over-long dance sequence broke out.
That said, I will admit that I did laugh out loud a few times. And, for a millisecond, I thought felt myself tear up in the tiniest of ways. Neither of those things are enough to make me recommend Chip-Wrecked. But they’re certainly enough to keep me from completely hating it.
